Detachable ribbon guide for typewriting machines



5, 1950 c. P. HUETHER 2,518,893

DETACHABLE RIBBON GUIDE FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed July 1a, 1946 25 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1 950 DETACHABLE RIBBON GUIDE FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Charles P. Huether, New York, N. Y.

Application July 13, 1946, Serial No. 683,542

The present invention relates to an improved inkingribbon unitfor type writing machines and the like.

Type writing machines now in use are provided with an inking ribbon guide which is secured to a vibrator actuated by the key levers to place the ribbon between the type and the paper each time akey is struck. The ribbon is carried on a spool, passes through the guide,'and is slowly wound on a second spool rotated by operation of the machine whereby an unused portion oi the ribbon is continuously presented to the type.

When the inking ribbon has been transferred from the first spool to the second spool, the inking surface thereof has been used to such an extent that a fresh ribbon must be substituted. Usually the second spool together with the used ribbon is removed from the machine and is discarded. The first spool from which the ribbon has been unwound is placed in the position previously occupied by the second spool and a spool carrying a fresh ribbon is placed in the position previously occupied by the first spool. The ribbon must then be threaded through the guide and attached to the rotated spool to arrange the ribbon for continuous passage through the guide.

This threading operation, even when performed by the nimblest hands, results in soiling of the fingers by the ink coated surface of the ribbon. Due to the inaccessibility of the guide by reason of the construction of existing type writing machines, the threading operation requires considerable time and patience and inevitably results in soiling of the fingers, as heretofore mentioned. This requires the typists to wash their hands before resuming work which further adds to the time consumed in changing the ribbons.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing difiiculties and disadvantages by providing an improved inking ribbon unit which does not require a threading operation to be performed by the typist when changing the ribbon.

Another object is to provide such a unit which enables ribbon changes to be made in a minimum period of time without handling of the inked surface of the ribbon and thereby preventing the soiling of fingers and attendant nuisances.

A further object is to provide such a unit which is simple and inexpensive in construction and can be manipulated by thetypist without skill.

' Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the'illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claim, and Various ad- 1 Claim. (01. 197-470) vantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, it has been found that the foregoing objects may be accomplished by providing a preassembled unit which comprises an inking ribbon and a guide through which the ribbon extends, the guide being provided with means for detachably securing the same to the vibrating element of the machine which is modified for the reception of the guide. The ribbon is carried on a spool and its leading end extends through .the guide whereby the spool and guide can be packaged as a unit.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and de scription,'and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Figure l is an elevation view of a fragment of a type writing machine embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the guide and vibrating element, certain elements of the machine being omitted for clearness.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a preassembled unit in accordance with the invention, illustrating a spool carrying an inking ribbon and a guide positioned on the leading end of the ribbon.

Referring to the drawing in detail, there is shown, in Figure l, a portion of a type writing machine illustrating a platen cylinder ii] for presenting the paper on which the type writing is to be applied, a rigid frame portion H of the machine, a ribbon guide slide l2 supported by the frame portion, a guide Hi mounted on the slide for up and down movement, an inking ribbon l5 extending through the guide, and a vibrating element It operated by an arm I: for effecting the movement of the guide.

The parts of the machine are conventional, except as hereinafter noted, and detailed illustration thereof is not believed to be necessary.

As shown in Figure 2 the guide It comprises a pair of upright spaced apart members 28 connected by a cross-piece 2| and each having a ribbon receiving guide opening 22 at the upper end. The lower end of each member 2i! has a reduced section 24 formed with bumps or projections 25 adapted to be received by apertures 26in slightly yieldable side portions 21 of the vibrating element is adapted to cooperate with the projections 25 to lock the sections 24 in the side portions 21. The projections 25 and aper tures 26 are so constructed and arranged to enable the sections 24 to be readily slid into and out of locking connection with the side portions by the application of a manual force but at the same time securely retain the sections 24 against displacement from the side portions due to forces exerted during the normal operation of the type writing machine.

In Figure 3, there is shown an inking ribbon unit in accordance with the invention comprising a spool 30 carrying the ribbon I5 and a guide 14 such as illustrated and described in connection with Figure 2 through which the leading end of the ribbon is threaded at the timethe unit is assembled for distribution to the consumer. The extreme end of the ribbon is provided with 'a conventional hook 3| for attaching the ribbon to the spool on which it is Wound during its use in a type writing machine. The hook further serves as an enlargement for preventing accidental separation ,of the ribbon and its guide by reason of theguide sliding towards the extreme end of the ribbon. V

7 ,It will be seen that thepresent invention provies an improved ribbon unit which is preassembled and can be readily positioned in a type writing machine by attaching the guide to the vibrating element. This can be accomplished without handling the inked surface of the ribbon. When it is desired to replace a used ribbon, the used ribbon together with its guide is discarded, and a fresh ribbon is mounted in its place as described herein. 7

While the present invention has been described in connection with type writing machines, it will be appreciated that the same may. be advantionsat the outer edge thereof; and a vibrating element having yieldable side portions formed with apertures therein adapted to receive said projections toremovably attach said lower end portions of said ribbon guide to said vibrating element. I H

- CI-IARLES P. HUETHER.

B EB NCESW T Thefollowingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 1 Name 7 Date 492,845 Sj oberg Mar. 7, 1893 1,040,406 Pool Oct. 8, 1912 1,100,135 Kennedy June 16, 1914 2,252,075 Johnson Aug. 12, 1941 2,386,439 Cordis Oct. 9, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany 1922 

